2013 GSAPP - ACCEPTED AND ATTENDING THREAD

like last year, we can make a google group thing and discuss living situations, finding roomies, etc. etc.

but lets meet everyone here first and discuss:

1. how is everyone going to pay for tuition? what is your financial strategy?

2. where are you thinking of living (on campus/off campus)

I'm from Cali and I've visited GSAPP once, but had a good thorough tour of it. I can try to answer some questions about the physical layout of the building, but any current/alumni GSAPP are welcome in this discussion as well.

I'm just waiting to hear from Parsons but I'm thisclose to accepting GSAPP.

Gonna apply for outside scholarships and try to balance that with cash and loans. I live in NYC already, so I'll be off-campus. I've never considered the on-campus option, though. I might take a look just out of curiosity.

I've decided to attend Columbia. Apparently I don't have any scholarship for the first year as being international student :(
My parents will help me financing the first year education and I’ll try to get on-campus job and other scholarships after that.
I’ve applied to on-campus housing but also heard that it is extremely competitive. So if I don’t get selected I’ll need off-campus housing and roommates!
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i got this quote from an awesome student at gsapp, whom shall go uncredited as i didn't really ask for their permission. it got me excited about the school.

"sorry for the late reply, I'm in Japan doing research for studio. As for GSAPP, I would say I am very fortunate to be able to go here. It was my first choice.

Financially, yes it is an investment, but you need to figure out where you want to be after you graduate. Think of the city you want to live in and what kind of firm you want to work for.

If you want to work in NYC, it helps a lot to already have NYC address. A lot of firms will give huge preference to people who have been living in NYC for some time.

Also the quality of firms is important. Do the type of firms you will be applying to hire mostly ivy league students? etc.

While in school, the scholarships get bigger every year. I started off with 12K for my first year and now have a 21k scholarship. I did graduate with over 150K in loans but with income based repayment programs, It is doable.

The biggest advantage of going to columbia is the breadth of classes offered. You have the opportunity to really take whatever focus you want and delve deeper in it, or try a little bit of everything. Studio professors present their studio and work at the beginning of every semester and you do a lottery to chose your top profs, first semester is the exception. The visual studies courses are super diverse. I've learned GIS, Processing, Grasshopper, Maya, the whole adobe suite, 3DSMAX, etc.

My favorite things are the travel opportunities during the semester and summer. I've been to Japan, China, South Africa, and Israel/Palestine and the school pays for your travel expenses.

Finally, the school atmosphere is fantastic. Everyone understands that we're all in the same boat and is very open to helping everyone else. This is probably due to the close quarters and the 6 on 6 Event on Fridays.

So in all, my personal philosophy is, if you want to do it you should do it. This is your only opportunity to do something big so you might as well go. Good luck and keep me updated on what you decide!"

1. I'm an international applicant too... Thankfully there's some in-country scholarships (full tuition) for students studying abroad. But it's extremely competitive. Plus these scholarships start to show up in april/may so I'll have to wait for the results for like mid june? Until then I'll still be unsure whether I'll be really going to GSAPP. Which is frustrating.

2. Off campus if possible.

I also have some questions. Where do we get school supplies for model-making/etc? Do we have to bring our own computers to the studio? Does the school cover any of that? And is there any possible way for an international student to get paid for summer internships? Or do most of them work for free?

@turq，
I think if you want to work outside of the studio you need to have your own computer. They have a desktop for each student in the studio and most of the software you need is in there.
I did their intro program, and during that time we had to get the materials on our own. People who were already in GSAPP told us some places where you could get materials for cheaper prices.
I’m an international student and I’m wondering about summer internships too. If I can’t get paid internships here I guess I’ll try to get them back home… :/

Did any of you have a substantial portion of your financial need not met? I just got financial aid notification and even with my scholarship the amount of aid offered me did not cover the budgeted amount

i feel you. i was in your exact situation; i didn't like having my only option to be the most expensive one, but whats funny is that when i re-applied again and being accepted into USC this time around, I think GSAPP is a better fit. (it would have been nice to be accepted to GSD or Yale, and if i was, I still would have taken the plunge for GSAPP - NY, big class size, and im interested in their MSRED program, which is like one of the big top fours to do it.)

@zytls Thanks for the info! Since the tuition is so 'overwhelming' I'm seeking for other ways to cut down the expenses. But I guess majoring in architecture isn't cheap in many aspects... I see you're curious about the internships as well. Some people at GSAPP told me that they indeed worked for free/part time. If it's the only option, and if it brings some sort of experience towards my career, I think it's not a bad idea.

@rustout I'm not sure of your nationality but from where I come from (I'm South Korean) there are some in-country scholarships provided to the students studying abroad. It covers the entire tuition based on your GPA, TOEFL, GRE, and 'where you are admitted to'. But yes, I'm also looking for international scholarships. Maybe you could start from here http://www.internationalscholarships.com/.

I recently received an invitation from the GSAPP M.Arch Google group. I entered right way but for some reason I can't post anything! Please can someone help me out? I wanna join the conversation :(

I will be going to GSAPP if they give me AP. I was admitted to the M.Arch 3-year program but no AP. I called them to ask if it was possible to apply for AP, the lady said she will check my record in case they made a mistake on the letter. I hope they change their mind and give me AP, if they do Ill see you this fall!

I' m also waiting for the housing lottery decisions... I've heard from former alumni that it is possible (but not very certain) to find housing during the summer from the lottery, however almost everyone finds housing in fall. We just have to find housing elsewhere (craigslist, friends maybe...) if the lottery results are not what we hope for. I'm attending MSAAD by the way!

@juanguzm... I havent received any new emails from them. I just call them.

@dorafel... I'll be attending MSAAD also. I hope I can live in upper Manhattan. I applied to for campus owned housing. I was told by other students that we should have an advantage to find housing during the lottery process because our program starts in the summer. I just pray that I don't end up in a dorm.

The housing portal... I guess there are 2 rounds of the lottery for housing... This was the first but apparently the next might not be until after June 5th so I guess it's time to start looking elsewhere